1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel vehicle lamp and a rotary driving apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for accurately defining inter-shaft pitches in a rotation transmitting mechanism located between an output shaft for rotating optical means and a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle lamp containing optical means, a motor may be employed as a driving source of the rotary driving apparatus for rotating the optical means.
When a brushless motor is employed and a printed board with circuit elements for driving the motor formed thereon is used for supporting a revolving shaft of the motor, the position of the supporting shaft of each gear for transmitting rotation from the motor to the output shaft cannot be defined accurately because the printed board is not manufactured to have a plurality of shaft members arranged in accurate pitches. Therefore, inter-shaft pitches are not possible, and rotation cannot be transmitted smoothly, leading to problems such as torque loss and undesirable noise.
An object of the present invention is to accurately define the inter-shaft pitches in a rotation transmitting mechanism located between an output shaft for rotating optical means, whereof the direction of irradiation is changed by rotation, and a motor.
The vehicle lamp according to an implementation of the present invention comprises an optical means whereof the direction of irradiation is changed by rotation, a motor, an output shaft for driving the optical means, and a rotation transmitting mechanism for transmitting rotation from the motor to the output shaft. The motor, the output shaft, and the rotation transmitting mechanism are accommodated in the case body, and the revolving shaft of the motor is supported by the case body.
The relative position of each shaft depends on the precision of the casing, which also supports the output shaft and the shaft of the rotation transmitting mechanism. Therefore, according to an implementation of the present invention, inter-shaft pitches can be accurately defined by increasing the dimensional precision of the mold for the case body.